McLaren has announced that it has built the 20,000th road car at its production centre in Woking. The factory was only completed in 2011, so that number discounts the 106 iconic F1’s that were built between 1992 and 1998. Impressive stuff from the lads and ladies in Surrey.

The landmark car in question was a refreshingly understated 600LT Spider in ‘Chicane Grey’. Lovely – and a car that perfectly highlights how far the leap made from those original MP4-12Cs.

To cope with rising demand, McLaren built 4,800 cars in 2018. However, the big news here is that production will remain at around 5,000 per year (20 cars per day) into the next decade, before only being upped slightly to 6,000.

Does this mean that McLaren is ruling out an SUV? Bentley and Lamborghini have of course recently added behemoths to their ranges in order to increase sales and raise funds for the cars they are more widely known for. Ferrari and Lotus are both set to follow the pack too.

For now, it seems as though exclusivity is king in Woking though. That means Ultimate Series cars such as the Speedtail will be built in tiny numbers, whilst the Sports and Super Series will continue pretty much as they are – with those 200 extra spots presumably left open to include production of the upcoming GT.

STORYGreg Potts

Author: TopGear

Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars, and is the most widely watched factual television programme in the world.